Safety holster for automatic pistols

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a holster for an automatic pistol that loads and cocks the pistol as it is released from the holster. The holster is configured to allow the release of the pistol from the holster with one hand.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 111(b), claims thebenefit of the earlier filing date of provisional application Ser. No.62/278,187 filed Jan. 13, 2016, and entitled “Safety Holster forAutomatic Pistols.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a safety holster for storing an automaticpistol. More particularly, the invention relates to a holster for anautomatic pistol that loads and cocks the pistol as it is released fromthe holster.

Description of the Related Art

Automatic pistols, as contrasted with revolver pistols, typically areless safe during their withdrawal from a holster. All currentlyavailable automatic pistol holsters require two hands to withdraw thepistol from the holster, to load a bullet into the chamber, and to cockthe pistol.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is an automatic pistol holsterhaving: a body with opposed sides cojoined by a cross member; a pair ofclamp blocks engaging each side of the body, wherein one clamp block oneach side of the body engages a slide of the pistol whenever the pistolis holstered; a clamp bolt transversing the opposed sides of the body,wherein rotation of the clamp bolt adjusts a distance between the clampblocks that engage the pistol slide thereby adjusting the force thatresists the movement of the pistol slide as the pistol is withdrawn fromthe holster; and a holster mount.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly several aspects of the presentinvention in order that the detailed description of the invention thatfollows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages ofthe invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject ofthe claims of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an automatic pistol.

FIG. 2 is an oblique view of one embodiment of a belt mounted gripperholster configured for a left handed user.

FIG. 3 is an oblique view corresponding to FIG. 2, but taken from theside opposed to that of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the holster shown FIGS. 2 and 3 having anautomatic pistol gripped in the holster slide.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the holster and pistol shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 corresponds to FIGS. 4 and 5, but is taken from the belt mountingside of the holster.

FIG. 7 is an oblique view corresponding to FIGS. 4 to 6, wherein theaction required to cock, load, and remove the pistol from its holster isindicated.

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of another embodiment of the holster.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the holster shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an end view of the holster of FIGS. 8 and 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a safety holster for storing anautomatic pistol. The safety holster loads and cocks the pistol as it isreleased from the holster. Reference herein is made to the descriptivedrawings of FIGS. 1 to 10.

Referring to FIG. 1, a typical automatic pistol 10 is shown. This typeof gun stores ammunition in a magazine loaded into its grip 12. With thechamber of the pistol unloaded, the pistol is cocked and loaded with around in its chamber by moving the slide 14 on the axis of the pistolbarrel 16 and outwardly from the grip 12. For safety, the pistol shouldbe stored with its chamber empty.

FIGS. 2 to 7 illustrate one embodiment of a belt mounted holster 20. Thewithdrawal of the pistol 10 from the holster 20 and the simultaneouscocking and loading of the pistol is described below. In FIGS. 2 and 3,it is seen that the body 22 of the holster 20 includes a flexible body22 that is typically a thin piece of metal bent into an “U” shape, witha radiused bend and approximately parallel sides. Transverse to theplane of symmetry of the holster body, its lower end has its outwardlyextending arms of the “U” cut back by large equal chamfers 32. Each sideof the body 22 on the outer portion of the arms of the “U” is providedwith an array of multiple equispaced clearance holes for the passage ofscrews. These screw holes are perpendicular to the plane of symmetry ofthe body and equispaced from the axis of the bend.

Penetrating the approximately parallel sides of the body atapproximately midlength are a pair of opposed coaxial transverse holes.These coaxial holes are located approximately halfway up the flat sidesof the flexible body 22 from the bend axis. The first hole is sized toprovide clearance for the shaft of a clamp bolt 24, while the opposedhole is slightly larger so that it can mount a pressed in cylindricalnut 26 for engagement with the threads of the clamp bolt. Two additionalholes on the same side as the hole for the pressed in nut 26 serve toaccommodate the mounting screws 28 for attaching a belt mount bracket27.

The flexible body 22 is typically made of a material with a combinationof a sufficiently low bending modulus of elasticity and relatively highstrength, so that the outer ends of the “U” can be bent inwardlyapproximately 0.1 inch without permanent distortion. The clamp blocks 37are identical elongated rectangular cross-section bodies having arectangular slot parallel to the two opposed sides of the flexible body.The width of the slot is sufficient to permit the outwardly extendingportions of the “U” of the flexible body to be engaged in the slot. Theclamp blocks are provided with through holes transverse to the slots.These holes are spaced the same as the screw holes of the flexible body.These holes are countersunk on one side and threaded on the opposed sideto accommodate the engagement of flat head screws used for mounting theclamp blocks to opposed outer edges of the “U” of the body, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3.

The clamp blocks 37 are typically made of a relatively rigid plasticwhich has a relatively low coefficient of friction such as high densitypolyethylene or nylon. The gap between the clamp blocks when theflexible body is relaxed should be on the order of 0.05 inch more thanthe transverse width of the pistol slide. The clamp bolt 24 has anelongate shaft threaded on a first end and provided with an upsetcylindrical head on the opposed end. A cylindrical clamp bolt handle 36with a round outer distal end extends outwardly in a radial plane fromthe head of the clamp bolt 34. The clamp bolt handle is inclined at anangle less than 90 degrees from the axis of the clamp bolt in order toprovide clearance from the clamp blocks and the body of the clamp.

The belt mount bracket 27 of the holster is formed from a flat elongatedrectangular piece of metallic sheet having rounded ends. Prior tobending the bracket during fabrication, two elongated holes 29 havingrounded corners and chamfered edges are punched through the bracket 27adjacent the two ends of the bracket. These elongated holes 29 areperpendicular to the long sides of the bracket and are sized to permitclear passage of a belt which can be used to support the holster 20. Apair of mounting holes are punched or drilled through the belt mountbracket 27 on its transverse longitudinal midplane equispaced from thesides of the bracket. Round head mounting screws 28 with hex nuts areused to mount the belt mount bracket to the body of the holster 20. Inorder to ease attachment of a supporting belt, the outer portions of thebelt mount bracket are bent outwardly symmetrically about the shortmidplane of the bracket.

Another embodiment of the safety holster 80 is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.This embodiment is made to be attached to a wall or other flatsupporting surface. Its principle of operation and its working elementsare similar to the working elements of the belt mounted holster 20 shownin FIGS. 1 to 7, although its actual configuration is different.Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, the wall mounted holster 80 uses similarclamp blocks 87, clamp bolt 84, and pressed in clamp screw nut as doesthe belt mounted holster 20. However, the body 82 and the wall mount 85differ significantly from the flexible body 22 and the belt mountbracket 27 of the belt mounted holster 20.

The body 82 of the wall mounted holster has spaced apart equal sideswhich extend symmetrically approximately perpendicularly to the flatbottom of the body to form an “U” shape. The width of the body 82 isabout the same as the length of the clamp blocks 87. Downwardly offset ashort distance from the outer ends of the “U” is an array of threesymmetrically spaced holes. These holes accommodate the flat head screwsused to mount the clamp blocks 87 to the body 82.

Approximately at midheight and midlength of the sides of the “U”, a pairof coaxial holes penetrate the sides of the “U”. The hole on a firstside is a clearance hole for the clamp bolt 84, while the hole on theopposed side is sized to accommodate the mounting of a pressed in nut. Apressed in nut is installed in the second hole and the clamp bolt 84 isengaged through the hole on the first side and then into the threads ofthe pressed in nut on the opposed second side of the “U”.

On the longitudinal midplane of symmetry of the body 82, a pair ofthrough holes are equally spaced from the transverse midplane of thebody. These holes mount a pair of round head attachment screws which areused to attach a wall mount 85 such as a metal angle. The wall mount 85is provided with holes corresponding to those on the bottom of the “U”,and nuts are engaged with the round head screws in the bottom of thebody in order to retain the wall mount. The vertical leg of the wallmount 85 is provided with holes appropriate for mounting it to a wall orother surface.

Operation of the Invention

The two holsters disclosed herein function in the same manner other thantheir mounting. When the automatic pistol 10 is inserted into theholster 20, the slide 14 of the pistol is engaged between the clampblocks 37 of the holster (as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6) and the clamp bolt24 is rotated by means of torque application to the clamp bolt handle 36until the slide 14 of the pistol is firmly gripped. Care must be takento ensure that the clamp blocks 37 are engaged only with the slide 14,rather than also engaging the body 18 of the pistol.

The clamping force should be sufficiently large to resist the slidingremoval of the pistol 10 from its holster 20 by a force on the order offour to eight times the weight of the pistol. Likewise, the clampingforce should be large enough to resist disengagement with the slide 14when the body 18 of the pistol is pulled away from the slide during thecocking and loading manipulation. Additionally, the mounting of the beltmount bracket and/or the wall mount bracket should also be capable ofsupporting a load larger than that required to slide the pistol out ofits holster.

An uncocked and unloaded pistol is safely mounted in its holster asshown in FIGS. 4 to 7. The pistol 10 is removed from the holster byexerting sufficient force in a direction for moving the slide to causethe cocking and loading of the pistol and then overcoming the frictionalforces of the clamp blocks 37 on the pistol slide 14. The clampingforces should be experimentally adjusted to achieve this result for aparticular pistol.

Advantages of the Invention

Use of the holsters of this invention permits safe, unloaded anduncocked storage of an automatic pistol, while at the same timepermitting one hand cocking, loading, and release of the pistol from itsholster. The gripping force of the holster can be made such that it isnot readily dislodged by vibration or small children. The ease of theremoval of the pistol with a single hand is particularly desirable inemergencies.

The fabrication cost of the holsters is low, while the basic design isrobust. The ease of adjustment of the gripping force is advantageous.Additionally, there is no need to modify the automatic pistol in anyway.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand the specific embodiment disclosed might be readily utilized as abasis for modifying or redesigning the elements of the holsters forcarrying out the same purpose. It should be realized by those skilled inthe art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spiritand scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automatic pistol holster having: a body withopposed sides cojoined by a cross member; a pair of clamp blocksengaging each side of the body, wherein one clamp block on each side ofthe body engages a slide of the pistol whenever the pistol is holstered;a clamp bolt transversing the opposed sides of the body, whereinrotation of the clamp bolt adjusts a distance between the clamp blocksthat engage the pistol slide thereby adjusting the force that resiststhe movement of the pistol slide as the pistol is withdrawn from theholster; and a holster mount.